LAS VEGAS—There's not too much debate over what the most anticipated NFL game of Week 3 is. The New England Patriots visiting the Baltimore Ravens, a rematch of last season’s AFC Championship game, should attract a large national TV audience. But here in Las Vegas, Nielsen ratings don't determine what the most-bet game of the week will be. So to get confirmation, we asked veteran oddsmaker Bert Osborne, the sports book director at the South Point Hotel and Casino, what he sees as the game that will attract the most interest in town.

"Without a doubt, we will write the most action on the Ravens-Patriots game, hands down! It already is," said Osborne, who notes he has a slight edge on Ravens straight-bet action, but has more ticket counts (smaller money) on the Patriots.

"There are so many different angles to look at in this game that make it appealing for the bettors, not to mention that it is the featured isolated Sunday night game, which we generally write the most action on, regardless of the matchup."

Osborne cites the importance of this early-season matchup as also being a key to driving business.

"It's almost like an early-season playoff game, because the loser goes to 1-2 and has an uphill road to climb; also the loser loses a possible tie-breaker when seeding and pairings for the playoffs come around."

The big differences in this season’s matchup from years past are that the Ravens are playing at home, both teams are coming off a loss and the Ravens are finally favored.

Since 1996, the Patriots have met the Ravens eight times and hold a 7-1 advantage. However, six of those games were played in New England. The Ravens only win was on the road in their 2010 wild card game, a 33-14 demolition, despite Joe Flacco completing only 4-of-10 passes for 34 yards.

The past two games between the two have been nail biters in Foxboro, the dramatics coming down to the final seconds. While the Pats won them both by identical 23-20 scores, the Ravens covered the point spread in each contest. This time around, the Ravens find themselves the 3-point favorite and have won 11 straight home games, the longest active streak in the league.

The main reason for such a large — almost unheard of — spread against Patriots is due to their performance at home last week, a 20-18 loss to the Cardinals as 13 ½-point favorites. The Linemakers’ NFL power ratings had the Patriots ranked No. 1 (101.4) last week, but they fell to No. 3 (100.5) following the loss.

The Ravens are currently No. 5 (98.8) in the ratings, so when adding 3 points to the Ravens for home field, the spread should have been closer to Ravens -1. Had the Patriots simply won against the Cardinals — not even covered — the line would have been a pick or Patriots -1.

Numbers-wise, the value is taking the points with Patriots. But bettors also have to consider all the intangibles, especially those that involve each team coming off a loss.

Pats coach Bill Belichick has long been the best in the business at bouncing back after a loss. Since 2003, the Patriots have gone 26-3 following a loss. But one of their two-game losing streaks came last season, and as great as Belichick's history has been, the Ravens have been better of late, winning their past 13 games after a loss since 2009.

Beyond all of the numbers and trends, one of The Linemakers on Sporting News, Richie Baccellieri, is focusing more on what happened to the Patriots last week.

"The Cardinals loss may have looked bad, but in reality, Arizona's defense has been playing like that since the last half of 2011," said Baccellieri, who formerly ran the sports books at Caesars Palace, MGM and Palms. "The Cardinals have won 9 of their last 11 games, so let’s not start categorizing the Patriots' loss to them like it was a loss to Jacksonville or Cleveland. They simply lost to a team with a tough, physical defensive front line that will be making a lot of opponents’ offenses look bad this season."

Baccellieri also has some concerns regarding the Ravens defense, or lack of it.

"The Ravens have been living off this reputation as a strong defense for all these years during the Ray Lewis and Ed Reed era, but they're getting older and slower, and they're also not the same defense without Terrell Suggs getting pressure on the quarterback.

"Last week against the Eagles, the Ravens forced four turnovers, which should be enough for any mediocre team to get the win, but they allowed the Eagles to put up close to 500 yards against them (486), and they ran out of gas against Michael Vick in the final moments, allowing the winning score. Their defense concerns me to the point that getting points with the Patriots looks to be great value."

Still, bettors have to wonder if they're seeing the same Patriots team from past years that can exploit a soft defense. No one really wants to say it, but at some point, 35-year old Tom Brady is going to show some signs of age. Meanwhile, he lost one of his two star tight ends, Aaron Hernandez, and hasn't gotten into synch yet with free-agent wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.

Llyod has caught a team high 13 passes on 21 targets, but netted only 129 yards. Wes Welker got involved in the offense last week, but there still seems to be a disconnect between he and Brady, whether that’s team- mandated because of Welker's contract situation, or because Welker’s just not getting open.

Baccellieri and The Linemakers believe the Patriots will rebound better than the Ravens this week. This is rarefied air for New England, getting points, anywhere. In the last seven situations getting points, Belichick and the Pats have covered six times.

If siding with the Patriots this week, don't wait too long to get the +3. Patriots money is bound to eventually push the number down. '3' is the most key margin of victory number in the NFL with 14.2 percent of all games over the past five seasons landing on it, including the last two games played in this series.

Micah Roberts is a former sports book director who covers sports from a gaming perspective.